Who we are
About Us
Within the University's large postgraduate community there are plenty of Christians. However in the past many felt isolated. The Graduate Christian Fellowship seeks to bring together Christians to enable us to share friendships, encourage one another in the faith and be a channel of God's love to others.
The GCF aims to supplement the existing work of local churches, chaplaincies and student societies.
GCF has been running since September 2000. A General Meeting in June 2001 adopted a constitution and elected officers.
What do we aim to do:
GCF exists:
- To encourage each other to know God and become more like Jesus through bible study, worship and prayer.
- To make Christ known to others.
- To foster discussion among Christian postgraduates on the integration of the Christian faith with contemporary issues and their academic disciplines.
- To encourage friendships and mutual understanding among postgraduates through social events such as trips, meals, watching movies etc.
Who can join in:
We are primarily a group for postgrads and postdocs but also welcome 4th year linguists, 4th & 5th year medics and mature undergraduates. We have a Christian basis but welcome people of any faith or none to our activities.
A Typical Meeting
What a typical meeting is like:
A typical meeting begins at 6pm with food - a simple meal, often just soup, sandwiches, or pizza and fruit. It is helpful to know how many people to cater for in advance, but if you haven't had a chance to tell us that you're coming, don't worry, we usually buy a little extra, and we'll share what we have...
It's good to chat with people and get to know them while we are eating - we want everyone to feel welcome and supported. We welcome donations to cover the cost of the food - £2 is the suggestion.
By 6.45 we are usually ready for something more stretching...
Most weeks we study the Bible in small groups of 5 to 7 people. We try to follow a particular theme or Bible book over several weeks, and the group leaders work from notes prepared by the committee or other GCF members. The purpose of the bible studies is to encourage discovery of truths from God's word that are relevant and applicable to our lives, so as to become more like Jesus as we put his word in practice.
About twice a term, however, we have a topical discussion or seminar where we think through issues of contemporary life and society, and look at our academic disciplines from a Biblical perspective. Input for these sessions can come from a member of GCF, or from an invited guest.
In the last ten minutes or so of the meeting, we sometimes worship God with a couple of Christian songs.
The meeting closes at 8pm, but often people continue to enjoy one another's company - perhaps going to the cinema, somebody's home, a pub, or café.
If you live off-campus, it is often possible to arrange a lift home for you, but please remember that the earlier you ask, the easier it is for us to organise.
The committee is always glad of volunteers to help with preparing the room, buying food, playing music etc.
Our Constitution
Who we are
What we aim to do
Who can join
What a typical meeting is like
The GCF Constitution
The GCF Constitution
as adopted on 8th June 2001, and subsequently amended according to proposals from the Students Union.
Text of the constitution
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Commentary on the text...
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1 AIMS & BASIS
- The Society aims to develop a deeper understanding and application of the Christian faith amongst members and non-members, by means of
- Bible study, worship and prayer
- seminars relating the faith to contemporary world issues and the studies of the members
- social events to encourage friendships and mutual understanding
- other events as determined by the Committee.
- Should questions of Christian doctrine and conduct arise they shall be resolved by reference to the Bible and the Nicene Creed.
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"The church is the only society on earth that exists for the benefit of non-members" (William Temple) - similarly gcf aims to serve non-members as well as members.
[1b] The founder members are concerned that the society should continue to witness to the historic and living Christian faith, and not be taken over by people with other priorities. The Nicene Creed dates back to the early centuries of the Church and is recognised by Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox traditions - for a modern translation click here.
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2 MEMBERSHIP
- Full membership of the Society shall be open, on payment of the membership fee, to all full and associate members of the University of Nottingham Students Union who are over the age of 21 and who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.
- Associate membership of the Society shall be open, on payment of the membership fee, to all full and associate members of the University of Nottingham Students Union who do not fulfil the other criteria for full membership.
- Membership fee shall be decided at the AGM.
- Non-members shall be welcome to attend events of the Society, save that the Committee may declare occasional events to be restricted to members only.
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[2a&b] The intention has always been to include mature students and (for example) 4th & 5th year medics. Specifying an age limit here is the easiest way to define which students are eligible. The faith criterion for full membership ensures that those with the power to vote at general meetings have a Christian commitment.
Most affiliated societies seek grants from, or use the premises of, the Students Union; the Union therefore prefers societies to restrict their membership to members (or associate members) of the Union. However, participation in most events is here made open to all.
[2c] A modest membership fee is suggested (eg £1.50) - societies seeking funds from the Union should show that they are willing to raise a contribution from their membership.
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3 OFFICERS
- President who
- shall have overall responsibility for the Society,
- shall be responsible for the chairing of Committee meetings:
- shall lead meetings for Bible study, with the assistance of Bible study leaders whom the President shall appoint subject to the approval of the Committee.
- shall prepare a written handover for their successor.
- Secretary who
- shall be responsible for the general administration of the Society, minuting of meetings, membership records and shall be the Returning Officer for the Society elections
- shall be responsible for the programme of seminars as in 1(a)(ii) above and the chairing of those seminars, all with the assistance of a seminar working group whom the Secretary shall appoint subject to the approval of the Committee.
- shall prepare a written handover for their successor
- Treasurer who:
- shall not be in the final year of their course
- shall keep records of all transactions
- shall be responsible for keeping the accounts of the society
- shall prepare a statement at the end of the Financial Year
- shall be responsible for the observance of other finance provisions
- shall prepare a written handover for their successor
- Social Secretary, who:
- is responsible for the organisation of all social events of the Society
- is responsible for publicity of all events of the Society
- is responsible for maintaining the Society’s web pages and an email information list to which members and others may subscribe
- shall prepare a written handover for their successor.
- These Officers are collectively the Committee. The Committee may co-opt up to three further persons.
- An officer may be dismissed by a two-thirds majority of all full members present at an AGM or EGM. In this event an AGM or EGM shall be held no sooner than the tenth day following and not later than the 21st day following in order to elect a replacement officer.
- All officers should seek suitable candidates for nomination as their successors at the subsequent election.
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[3a&b&c] The posts of President, Secretary and Treasurer are necessary to ensure compliance with Union procedures.
Rather than appoint other officers to fulfill aims 1(a)(i) and (ii) we have made these the responsibilities of the President and Secretary respectively.
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[3d] In a multi-site modern University electronic communication is very important.
[3e] The Committee could be as few as three in number, but could be as large as seven if the work of the Society requires.
[3g] The outgoing officers are responsible for seeking and nominating those who will follow them.
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| 4 FINANCE
All monies shall be required to be held in accounts at the UNSU Treasury. All monies shall be used to support the Society Activities.
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5 ELECTIONS
- The entire electoral procedure shall take place prayerfully and with the overall good of the society in mind.
- A nomination is not valid unless the candidate is a full member of the Society and signs the following declaration, "I accept the authority of the Bible in matters of faith and conduct, and the Nicene Creed as a summary of the Christian faith. I am committed to the aims of the Graduate Christian Fellowship."
- The Officers must be elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) or at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM).
- On the eighth day before the meeting the Committee shall encourage the membership to nominate candidates for each post, using the email list and the Society’s noticeboard in the Portland Building. Members may communicate nominations to the Secretary until 48 hours before the start of the Meeting.
- The option to "Re-Open Nominations" (RON) should appear on voting papers as a candidate for each post. If there are two candidates for any post, a simple majority shall secure election. If there are more than two candidates for any post, the Single Transferable Vote system shall be used.
- If there is no candidate for a post, the Committee shall decide whether and when to hold another General Meeting at which an election can take place.
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[5a] The choice of leadership of a Christian society should be more about seeking God's will than about personal ambition.
[5b] This declaration is another safeguard of the ethos of the Society.
[5e] The Single Transferable Vote (or Alternative Vote) system is well-known in European politics and is used in Union elections. Under this system the voter does not risk "wasting" a vote by voting for a candidate who might be perceived as unpopular. (The voter numbers the candidates for each post in order of preference; at the count, votes are redistributed until one candidate has a clear majority.) The RON option is standard Union procedure.
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6 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING & EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
- There must be an AGM of the Society in the Second Semester, by the fifth Friday of the summer term.
- The Quorum for an AGM or EGM must be at least 15 full members of the Society, or half the total number of full members, whichever is greater. An EGM can be called by 20 members of the Society, or 3 Officers of the Society, or two members of the Council of Reference, who must inform the Secretary at least seven days before the meeting. The Secretary shall inform the UNSU General Secretary within 2 Union days of the original notice.
- Only full members of the Society may vote at a General Meeting.
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[6b] It is envisaged that an EGM will be called only in unusual circumstances, such as the resignation of an officer, or grave concern about the way the Society is being led. |
7 COUNCIL OF REFERENCE
- The Council of Reference shall be composed of two or three ministers of Nottingham churches (or full-time Christian workers) each of whom is invited to serve by the committee for a maximum of two five-year periods.
- The Council of Reference shall meet with the Committee at least once each year to review the progress and plans of the Society.
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The C of R is intended to give some long-term continuity to the way in which the Society is run.
[7a] In the event of a C of R member not completing a 5-year term, a replacement would be appointed for a new 5-year period.
In May 2002 the Committee clarified the role of the Council of Reference.
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8 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
- The Constitution may be changed by a two-thirds majority of all members present at two successive AGMs, subject to proposed changes being communicated to the email list and displayed on the Society’s noticeboard on the eighth day before each meeting; and by Union Council according to recommendations from the Constitutions Committee.
- On any point the Society Constitution can be over-ruled by the UNSU Constitution.
- Notwithstanding 8(a) an AGM or EGM may decide by a simple majority vote to disaffiliate from the Union and remove from the Constitution all clauses referring to the Union.
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[8a] It would be very difficult for any minority group to force a change in the constitution.
[8a&b] The over-riding power of the Union is a feature common to all affiliated societies. In the unlikely event of this power being misused, we imagine that the Committee would call an EGM to disaffiliate from the Union.
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